A June 17 poll found that only 28% of people in Scotland would actively want England to lose if Scotland were no longer involved in a competition, a result that cuts against a familiar football stereotype. In Corby, where the question is still the same one being asked across the UK, the figure points to a more mixed view than the old joke suggests.
The same poll found that 61% of people in Scotland take either quite a lot or a great deal of pride in the national side. That compares with 50% in England and 47% in Wales, giving the survey a wider picture of national-team pride as the World Cup continues.
Scotland and England
Only one in five respondents said they would like England to do well if Scotland had already been knocked out. Another 28% said they would not mind either way. The result leaves Scotland split in a way that does not fit the simple picture of automatic hostility once its own team is out.
Even among Scots who said they felt pride in their own national team, only 38% said they would want England to lose under those circumstances. That leaves a gap between national pride and a wish for England’s defeat, and it is the clearest sign that the two attitudes do not move together.
England and Wales
The same survey also found sharper support patterns in England. Among English voters, Labour supporters were the most likely to express pride in the national team, with 73% saying they felt either a great deal or quite a lot of pride. Among English voters, 67% of Conservative voters said the same, while 57% of Reform UK supporters did so.
Green Party voters were the least likely to feel pride in England's men's team, with 62% saying they felt little or no pride at all. In Wales, only 12% of respondents said they would actively support England's opponents, and more than half said they were indifferent to England's results.
World Cup and Corby
Scotland continued its World Cup campaign after returning to the men's tournament for the first time in 28 years. For readers in Corby, the practical takeaway is simple: the poll does not show a blanket desire for England to lose, and it suggests that Scottish support softens once Scotland is out rather than turning automatically against England.
The figures also leave one clear gap in the public picture. The poll gives percentages but not the sample size or margin of error, so the results can show direction but not how tightly the numbers are pinned down.
